Pokemon

Say Alola to the Alola regionThe long-anticipated release of Pokemon Sun & Moon is finally upon us! As Pokemon trainers get ready to visit the Alola region, some fans may want a less-digital version of some of the new Pokemon for their shelves. Thank...

Only sold in JapanWhat happens when Nintendo, Good Smile Company, and the German teddy bear artisans at Steiff team up? You get the most amazing Pikachu plushie imaginable with a rather amazing price to match. The most famous of all of Pokemon...

Build-A-Bear Workshop is no stranger to pop culture plushies these days. Having done everything from My Little Pony to Star Wars and even a zombie bear for Halloween, they're now teaming up with the Pokemon Company for a Pika...

Regretting picking Charmander yet?Bandai of Japan continues its line of Pokemon gym leaders with a web-exclusive Misty.
Although Misty plays a prominent role in the Pokemon anime, in the original games she was just a minor roadblock who you needed to overcome...

It was a short break, but it would seem Ninninger is back again in the top five. Clearly Bandai hit a home run with the current Super Sentai incarnation. It is interesting to not see Yo-Kai watch return, or Kamen Rider Drive ...

Hope you were saving your pennies during this period because we're looking at some of the most expensive figures we've seen in these rankings. It's not often that we see this many high ticket items sell so well in one week. J...

The fine folks that brought us a number of familiar characters hanging off our cups from Funassyi to Disney to Madoka Magica is at it again. This time around Kitan Club is ready to electrify your favorite drinks wit...

The Pokemon Center is getting into the fall spirit with the release of their Halloween plush collection into their US online store. The series is admittedly smaller than the seasonal campaigns seen in Japan but, honestly, I a...

Shapeways can't catch a break, or maybe it can? Shapeways has a tendency to be a bit controversial, what with its place as a 3D printing hub making use of user-created 3D renders, many of which are based on licensed character...

PokemonCenter.com has officially opened up, offering up several different kinds of Pokemon-branded merchandise. Apparel, iPhone cases, Pokemon Trading Card Game products and more are available, but what you're probably most c...

After losing The Pokemon Center in New York City, I thought the only way I’d be able to go to one again was if I went back to Japan. It was such a magical store! I just grabbed whatever I wanted, and didn’t care ...

A perfect reveal for a hot Summer day?A wild photo of a S.H. Figuarts Mega Blaziken has appeared! Mega Blaziken, of the Mega Evolutions introduced in Pokemon X/Y, will be the second Pokemon character in Bandai's merged S.H. Figuarts line (four Pokemon figures pre...

May 26 //
Andres Cerrato
I really want to know what goes through these executives' heads. Maybe I want to give them the benefit of the doubt. Perhaps this deal was signed long ago. With the next promotion being the surely everyone can enjoy How to Train Your Dragon 2 toys, McDonald's couldn't simply afford the loss of shelving a run of American Girl Happy Meal toys.
Let's be honest here. This, at the root of it all, is a business decision. However, these business decisions have consequences. Will this segregation get kids to question their choices in the things they like? Probably not. I don't think that by a girl looking at the options that she's going to make the determination that Pokemon are only for boys, especially if she's playing her 3DS and catching Pokemon as her character. McDonald's only has this out because someone made a decision, and without understanding the franchises at play, that there didn't have to be this kind of segregation.
I can't speak from experience of an executive and that's part of the problem. I can speak from experience as a parent today and that's part of the executives' problem. I don't fully comprehend how someone could just shovel off the idea that these toys are such a gender issue. There's a generational gap at play and our generation isn't the one in charge right now. However, it is our generation that is raising our children and we've made the determination that there shouldn't be this kind of gender discrimination any more.
There probably hasn't been a toy or game that I've seen in the past two decades enjoyed by all sexes more than Pokemon. I've never thought of the game as being a "boys only" title. The game has made great strides in including all genders, being as inclusive as it possibly can. Yet, there are still people of the mindset that Pokemon is just for boys, simply for the fact that it's a video game. Clearly, as society likes to play out, video games are a boys only club with girls only acting or being embraced as a fetish point when they do play games.
Instead, today's girls will be getting the newest American Girl, Isabelle. I don't have any grudges against these toys. Girls are free to enjoy dolls as any other toy. My only problem with these is that they exist merely because someone felt that girls need to have girl things. It's just asinine that this is the alternative to Pokemon. That's what makes this sting all the more. It's understandable given the social norms that many of the people making the decisions have grown up in. There is just a much bigger problem when we arbitrarily throw these social norms onto things that shouldn't exist.
Even the activities pages on the Happy Meal website are segregated. Boys can color Pokemon! They can do mazes, scramble and make words out of other words! Draw! As a girl, you can put a dress on a girl! Design a costume! Hooray I'm a girl! It's just embarassing that this kind of promotion and segregation is still going on. These advertising campaigns are created by people who don't understand the current generation. This is a vestige of a time that will soon go out.
When will McDonald's actually go through with the changes to gender-specific toys? Probably when all of their existing contracts for toys run out. Unfortunately, we're going to have to see more of the same controversies continue to exist for no reason. If the company wants to controversy to go away, just start the practice now. This story will continue to come up as long as the practice continues. Besides, I'm tired of being looked down upon because I would like kawaii in my Spider-Man headband.

Also, these toys are so bad they shouldn't be for any genderMcDonald's had a gold mine on its hands. The ever-popular Pokemon became the newest set of Happy Meal toys. While these are nowhere near the glory days of the Burger King promotion from the first Pokemon movie, McDonald's has...

Pokemon fans in France will soon be very happy. A Pokemon Center will be opening up in Paris on June 4. However, this will only be for a limited time only.
Very limited, because it will be gone by June 21. It seems like a b...

There is more than just Gunpla at Shizuoka. Pokepla has had a couple of good kits in the past couple of years and the line shows no sign of slowing down. With the popularity of new Mega Evolutions to take advantage of, Pokepl...

This is not a drill, people. Good Smile Company had previously announced that Nendoroid Pokemon Trainer Red was to be exclusive Japanese Pokemon Centers and the Amazon Japan Pokemon store. But while we were busy cursing our f...

For trainers aching for toys of more obscure Pokémon, NCSX has got the goods. Two new pre-order items from Banpresto recently popped up on their site, one a Pumpkaboo plush and the other a Pancham cushion. Th...

...but I can still buy it, right? While Tamashii was debuting their summer collection to fans, a lot of people, including myself, became enchanted by a toy from an entirely different company. That would be Good Smile Company’s Nendroid Red from Pokemon...

This has fallen just a little under the radar, but there's still time to take part! Students in the San Jose State University Animation/Illustration program are holding Press Start: Nintendo Charity Gallery until May 16 where...

Yes, I do choose you!Who would have known that we would get a huge Nendoroid reveal at a Bandai event? Well, that's just what happened! Among all the new figures from Tamashii Nations' lines was a poster showing Good Smile Company's Nendoroid Red...

If you haven't been keeping up with your Pokemon news, you may not have heard of Diancie. The rock/fairy-type monster is the star of the upcoming Pokemon movie (yes, they are still making those), Diancie and the Cocoon of Des...

The idea behind PokeZombies seems pretty simple: take Pokemon and zombify them. That extends to plush as well, where it seems there's been a little bit more work than simply changing a few colors here and there.
The Charizard...

There must be some unwritten rule asserting that if it exists then eventually it will receive its own version of Monopoly. Although it seems that just about everything has been covered, the list of whatever-is-left has shrunk...

Though we usually don't stray into tees, prints, and accessories territory too often here at Castle Tomopop, I felt the need to share something adorawesome today.
Selina Briggs of The Jelly Empire, who we frequently feature f...

This Saturday in NYC there will be a one day event called the New York Comic Book Marketplace. In attendance will be The Jelly Empire, and she’s bringing with her lots of cute new stuff. After selling out in her online...

First spotted in November, and then seen again in scans a few weeks ago, it feels like S.H. Figuarts Lucario has been slinking around, for the most part, going unnoticed. I mean this is the first time I’ve seen promo s...

What Pokemon fan hasn't dreamed of just cuddling up with a Snorlax? I mean, they just look so darn relaxed, not to mention fluffy. The good folks over at Banpresto have seen fit to make that dream a reality for gamers and nap...

ZORKOkay, what on earth happened to Tomopop? Why is it so desolate nowadays?2-DAfter one year of collecting minus a Castle Crasher figure and amiibos. Desperately trying to cut back but just seen a cheap Tifa figure on eBay.....Cornelius RoyIf you're an Avatar fans and noticed Chief Beifong figure on SDCC, the dream lives on.
http://zwyerind.com/ there's a banner labelled coming soon...Jeremy Emerje CrockerWeekly top sales are on an indefinite hiatus. My source, Toynes.jp, abruptly stopped making regular postings including rankings. I'll resume whenever they do. :(Niero GonzalezTesting Quickposts! You can now use Tomopop like Twitter